Commonwealth Senior Living

My mother resided at this facilities for over 4 years, the service at the begining was marginal; and with a change in management - there was significent improvement. We were pleased. The last 18 months, staff has changed, service has decreased, and cleanliness has deteriorated. Mom fell twice within a 2 week periord, the first time we were in the ER for over 9 hours she ended up with two black eyes, and a huge knot on her head. The second fall mom ended up with fracture of her hip. Both instances no one was watching her, thus no eyes on target.

My father is a resident at Whispering Woods, having moved in just prior to Christmas 2016. Initially, things seemed to be going good. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for concerns and areas in need of change to become apparent. We were told at the time that we toured Whispering Woods, that the facility had a lift chair available for my Dad to have in his room. The chair that was in his room, was not a lift chair and had a pretty large piece of metal protruding out the back. My Dad is a Diabetic, so he is at greater risk of developing an infection, should he have become cut on that metal. Last week, the reclining chair was replaced, but it is still not a lift chair. My Dad also has Congestive Heart Failure and has an implanted pacemaker. It doesn't appear that anyone has been weighing him daily, listening to his lung sounds, or assessing his feet and ankles . He has had so much edema in them that he hadn't been able to even get his shoes on, but rather has to wear slippers. Unfortunately, there has been very poor follow through with medication techs (who are not licensed) and the nursing staff member, who serves as community resident coordinator. We had a medication tech provide the medication sheets for the wrong resident (not my Dad's) to the personal performing evaluations on him for the Medicaid Waiver Program. My Dad, who also has Alzheimer's Disease, did not receive personal care assistance from staff until we met with one of the corporate nurses who was down to the Whispering Woods facility trying to make recommendations for improvements. My Dad reported that third shift staff members were sleeping while on shift and told him to go back to bed when he got up at about 6 am. Despite completing a several paged form with his likes and dietary dislikes, my Dad continued to be served spinach, broccoli and other unwanted selections. He was there for over a month until we were informed that he could make an alternate selection. My dad was recently started in insulin and has frequent blood glucose tests throughout the day. Despite him having continued high reading over 300, I (as his guardian) was not informed of these high readings until after I told the facility that I was looking at removing my Dad from their facility. My husband and I were very surprised and very concerned when we learned last weekend of the incident at another Meridian facility in October, where a resident walked out of the facility, and out to the courtyard, where she was found over 5 hours later, expired (dead) from hyperthermia, only 40 feet from her room. It is alleged that staff did not perform the checks on at least this resident like they were supposed to. The facility does appear to have extra staff on site, while attempting to correct the areas that appear deficient in. Unfortunately, it took my identifying that the building my dad resides in does not have a "hydration station", which is a place for residents to get water and other beverages. I believe that they are attempting to improve, but our family is touring other facilities to see if we can find more appropriate care staffing elsewhere. I would highly recommend reviewing many other facilities prior to selecting Whispering Woods Assisted Living, or any other Meridian facility.

This has been a very disappointing experience since my parent has been there. The food is not consistently nutritious and tasty. As well as the murder that occurred this past Oct.there, which is the proof reiterated of being short staffed. Some of the staff has proven incompetent of the overloaded work that is expected of them. They are not genuine in their concern for patients as several families will tell you.

the Cna are great they try so hard to make the residents feel good. But the managment is really bad they treat the staff like dirt.. when there is family night the mangement sit in the office [Removed]. really good. the manager always has her door closed so family's are unable to talk with her. also the program cord is never doing anything but siting in the Ed's office. I did not know that mangement was there to make residents and residents family's feel like mangement was better then them. I'm really thinking about taking my family member out from there.. I feel sad there is some great worker there. But mangement needs to go.

The Ballentine is not a good place for your mother or family...in the last three months the buliding is like a ship in the ocean its going down with the tides....The Ballentine needs NEW Management, that person who is running the building needs more training in respect.

I was so excited when my mother moved in the Ballentine years ago, now the place has NO core values within the last three months, When I walk in the buliding now you do not feel that friendly atmosphere anymore you feel sadness from residents and staff I am looking to move my mother out of there. I visit alot there. The activity department has fallen after they let Karen go she was the best, I miss Michelle in nursing she was the best. Lets turn to the dinning room, more help is needed two people serving morning, noon, and night meals. It takes forever for residents to get they meals to the table, they always running out food, and food is horrible. Upper management need a crash course in respecting resident and staff.. Please if you have family there slip in make sure your mother or father is getting what you are paying for activity, good food, housekeeping, and most of all respect.

My aunt was a resident at whispering woods for about 61/2 months. Her time spent in the locked memory unit was approximately 5-6 weeks. The care was terrible there. If she had not been in hospice care also I would have moved her. The med tech in charge was totally unprofessional and had no idea meds she was on or why. When I asked if she was still receiving medication for her glaucoma she gave me a long answer that told me she had no idea what glaucoma is. [Removed]. Another aide told her to stop it. I would never recommend this facility.

We are very happy with everything at Whispering Woods.

The quality of service to my mother deteriorated badly after a management change. The memory care section is a very sad place with barely adequate care. We are so happy to have moved my mother out of this place.

Look closely. The marketing to potential residents is very orchestrated by only showing the montessori units. Building is dilapidated, administrators are not in touch with what actually occurs at facility and are slow to respond (if at all) to problems. Staff not equipped to give the type of care they market. Could share many horror stories but I would just sound bitter. I only hope to make you more critical when looking at this facility

My Mother has been in this facility for a little over a year. In the first few months she was able to care for herself, but steadily declined to the point where she needs a lot of care in ADL's including wheelchair assistance to get to meals and activities. I have called Adult Protective Services 3 times in the past 6 months and my complaints justified, once they came in to take pictures of her arm which was bruised and swollen from a fall, the staff had reported she was "fine with no injuries". Most recently, a fall late in the evening she hit her head,and as always I went to check on her. The staff never bothered to check on her thru the night to make sure she was ok. Recently, in the room next to my mother, a resident was calling for help and I found her lying on the floor. I went to the staff and even offered to assist them to get her up as I could not do it myself. They told me they had already assessed her and would get to her!! On a Saturday evening, I went in to give Mom a shower. She had not been bathed for several days being told they were just too busy and short staffed. One person even told her she had "Never given a Bath". Several times, Mom has been offered the same soup for lunch and dinner or Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches. Last night, Mom had no Hot not even Warm water as I was helping her get ready for bed, she stated someone else had said that earlier in the day also. I went to the Staff at 9:15 pm and reported this. They told me they were unaware. As a Health care worker myself, I was appalled! Does anyone Wash their Hands? I called the Health Department, but got No Response. I followed up this morning on my way to work at 7:30 am there was still no hot water. This is what the Commonwealth Assisted Living Facility is providing our loved ones. I live only two miles away and visit almost every night. These things happen often. I am sure many other residents do not have family who live as close or are able to visit frequently and are totally unaware. I have also called the regional director on more than one occasion and have not gotten much response to my concerns. These Services cost my Mom and Many Others about $4400 a month.

The front area, where you would walk in, was clean, but when we went to my dads room his room was not clean. There would be trash and needles for his insulin under the bed and on the floor in the corners. I even picked some up and showed the nurse and I asked her what they were doing there and she just said "Oh well, I'm sorry" and that was it. His bathroom... basically him being an amputee and tryign to get himself on the toilet would make a mess and the toilet was leaking. My mom went to the adminsitrator and maintence several times and they told her it was going to get fixed, it never did. Then she called the corporate office and they just kind of mopped around it and said it was fixed. Lets just say there were probably 1 or 2 nurses that acted like they really cared and the other had turned up nose attitudes and would say "we have other patients". I know that, but i work in the medical field and I know that each nurse is assigned to a patient and every body needs to be taken care of. If they don't care or have compassion they shouldn't be in this field. Once my dad got there he started to deteriorate, it kind of pulled his spirit down.

Did not tour but the grounds and appearance of the building from the outside appeared unkempt and dirty. Too close to other apartment buildings. Did not seem like a safe area for an elderly person.

All I want to say it thank GOD I was able to get my loved one out of this facility. Our experience here was horrific. I would never recommend Commonwealth Senior Living at WIlliamsburg to anybody.

I would want others to know that if your loved one has dementia and needs care such as bathing, changing diaper, guidance, you are screwed. He was here for 30 days and destroyed him, I got charged almost 20,000 dollars and I have not gotten a dime back. He had to go to the hospital due to the little care he received. They were not giving him any of his medications. They were not helpful at Commonwealth Senior Living at all.

The Resident Care Associates (RCA) can be very aggressive when providing bathing care. Baby wipes are often used to wash instead of soap/water and wash cloths. Residents may have their own items provided by family members but they are not typically used. Residents are yelled at for trying to help remove clothes when it is time to change and when trying to exercise their independence. Residents are yelled at when they're on the phone with family members. When responding to complaints that the water was too hot, the RCA stated "She can take it." referring to the resident. While waiting for the shower water to warm up in another room, the resident was splashed with cold water several times by the RCA. Another resident was asked whether he wanted to take a shower because it was on the schedule. The resident asked when the last time he had a shower was and the RCA replied, "Remember you didn't like when I gave you a shower last time. You don't like it. Do you want to take a shower?" The resident responded, "Well, in that case, no." The RCA logged his response as a refusal. Residents were disturbed well into the night after they've fallen asleep for vacuuming and laundry, sometimes even showers that are supposed to be done prior to bed are delayed. Care provided at this facility is very different from what you see in the promotional videos or even during daylight hours. If your loved one lives here and requires any degree of assistance to help change clothes, bathe, or eat, be present often and see how they react when staff provides that "care." The food is standard elementary school cafeteria style, not the chef inspired meals advertised and charged for. Complaints have been filed on behalf of several residents.

I placed my aunt in Addington on Feb 22nd and it has been the most horrible experience so far! The fact my aunt lives in Michigan and I live in Kentucky has been highly stressful because my aunt's needs are not being met and when reported, staff members say the right stuff; but they do nothing. Within her two week stay, my aunt has fallen at least four times; while being assisted by aids. The most recent fall of March 6th, left my aunt's face badly bruised and fingers on her left hand in intense pain; no x-rays were taken. I plan to seek legal remedy to flag this facility as lacking and incompetent in providing senior care. I regret placing my aunt in Addington Place.

Addington Place of Grand Rapids is not as advertised on their website. The meals are not “home cooked” unless you call heating up foods from Gordon’s Foods home cooked. The meals are way time big calorie and there is no room for change! I frankly don’t know how the diabetics manage unless they just increase their medications. Experienced, dedicated staff that offer personalized care with compassion is very small in number. Most staff have little to no experience and are “trained” at the facility which sometimes means putting staff on that has no training. Most of the staff seem indifferent to compassion. The place is always short staffed and the turn over rate is extremely high. I cannot keep up with staff names since there are always new staff. Sometimes there is 1 staff member on duty who is suppose to give care to 15 or more people for almost the whole shift. This may include giving out medication, getting people ready for bed, and answering the buzzer which tells staff a person needs something like going to the bathroom. The “years of experience” only tells you how long the place has been open, not how many companies have managed them and not that the staff have years of experience. Your loved one may not get their medicines like they are suppose to. Medicine is sometimes not given for no good reason and sometimes they don’t get it because staff don’t always call the pharmacy to have more medicine before the refill runs out. Sometimes staff write that they have given the medication when they have not. My friend did not get her heart medicine for 12 days, another time her blood thinner level was not checked for four months and nobody noticed. She could have died her blood was so thin. Another time a different medicine was not given for four days. There is so much more but I am afraid you won’t read this if it is too long. Be sure that you want your loved one to experience these possibilities. They are real.

The review before this is so right on. Was hoping the new management would make a difference! And it is so traumatic to move a parent in memory care so these reviews are the only tool that families have to warn others & push for change. Concern sheets & meetings mean nothing when the director does not make sure personnel have work ethic & supervision. Example: so -called tour night -Thursdays 4-7 consists of managers & booze meeting with young friends in resident's cafe while residents are pleading to go out and walk in the unkept courtyard! Unreal!

Cleanliness, far far from it. Friendliness, a select few. Value. awful. Care services. awful Activities. IF they have them ...I've never seen any!